


in the line of duty

by aretia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 16:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13930761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: Lotor nags Sendak for risking his life to save him, even though that's his job.





	in the line of duty

Lotor was perfectly capable of defending himself on his own. The bodyguard was just a formality, and a presumptuous one at that. Still, there were times when Lotor could be caught unaware. Such was the case recently when he was walking through the corridors of a rogue Galra commander’s battleship, intending to meet with him and bring him back into his ranks. When he had heard the ticking of a bomb behind one of the columns, he barely had time to widen his eyes before Sendak tackled him to the ground, shielding him with his body. Once he regained his bearings, Lotor found himself bruised but unscathed, and Sendak lying on top of him, bleeding and unconscious. 

“You should not have been so reckless,” Lotor told Sendak, for about the thousandth time in the past movement. Since Sendak was recovering in the medical wing, he didn’t have much to do besides listen to Lotor nag him when he decided to visit. Lotor sat in the chair beside his bed, leaning over him intently, with his arms folded on top of the sheets.

“I was merely doing my duty,” Sendak replied. “To you and to the Empire.” Sendak was lying on his stomach, since the wounds on his back made it painful for him to lie on it. He had his mechanical arm detached, leaving only the stump of his shoulder in a compression sock. His organic arm was folded at his side, hand curled up by his face. 

“You could have been killed,” Lotor continued, unyielding. 

“And?” Sendak huffed. His ear twitched in irritation. “If I hadn’t done that, _you_ would have been killed. Would that have been any better?”

“I suppose not,” Lotor conceded. Sendak cracked a smirk of victory. “But Sendak, your life is not expendable. Please consider that before you rush into danger.”

“There are others who could replace me,” Sendak said, though the smirk remaining on his lips didn’t match with the seriousness of the situation. “Commander Ranveig, for instance, I’m sure would relish the opportunity.”

“Ranveig is…” _Repugnant_ , Lotor wanted to say. He was the bodyguard who was filling in for Sendak while he recovered. For one thing, he didn’t bathe, and his putrid odor followed Lotor wherever he went. Besides that, Lotor didn’t trust him like Sendak, he didn’t enjoy being around him like Sendak. He wasn’t Sendak, and that was the real problem.

At first he hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. It was unbecoming for an emperor to care so much for his guard. But when he didn’t know if Sendak would make it, he had felt like his world was crumbling. He always behaved as if everything he had fought for could be taken away in an instant. He never realized how much of what he held dear he would be willing to sacrifice if it would only keep Sendak by his side. 

“I had hoped that Ranveig’s stay would be as temporary as possible,” Lotor finished as he turned his face away from Sendak, feeling heat rising in his cheeks.

Sendak chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. I am scheduled to make a full recovery in a few quintants. There is no need to replace me.” 

“Thank the stars for that,” Lotor murmured. He pushed himself up out of the chair, though he left his hand on the bed next to Sendak, idly smoothing the sheets. “Rest up. You need to regain your strength. If you wish, you may take a vacation once you recover…” Lotor didn’t want to be away from Sendak any longer than necessary, but he thought he ought to offer. Sendak did so much for him, and Lotor often felt like he didn’t show enough appreciation. 

Sendak fixed him with an intense gaze then, his single eye drilling into Lotor’s very core. He cradled Lotor’s hand in his. “My Emperor, Lotor. I am yours. I live to serve you.” He pressed his lips against the back of Lotor’s hand, surprisingly gentle for how rugged Sendak seemed. He then nuzzled his cheek against Lotor’s hand, letting him feel the softness of his fur. “Vrepit sa,” Sendak said earnestly. 

Heat blazed across Lotor’s face, and he was sure his blush was visible by now. When Sendak released his grip on his hand, Lotor pulled it back as if burned, holding his wrist in his other hand and staring at it in disbelief. His usual eloquence gone, he struggled to find the words to reply. “Vrepit sa,” Lotor muttered. “I must go.” His hair fanned out behind him as he turned on his heel and strode out of the room, cursing himself for getting so easily flustered. 

 

Lotor’s scent still lingered in the room after he left. Sendak pressed his hand against his cheek. It was clear that Lotor wanted something more than a professional relationship with him, but there was nothing Sendak could do about that without overstepping their boundaries. All that Sendak could do was stay by his side and wait for him to realize what he wanted, and from there it would be easy. He would happily follow Lotor anywhere he led, and he would protect him until his last breath.


End file.
